LONG HOLLOW BLUES Farmhand (independent) ****+
Don’t worry if you you’ve never heard of Farmhand, this is their debut. Long Hollow Blues sounds like a record by a band that’s been together for years, such is their sure-footed playing and handle on the groove. It’s blues with some southern twang and it’s catchy as hell.
I haven’t heard of any of the guys in the band before, but if they keep putting out records this good everyone should know who they are sooner rather than later. “We tried to come up with songs that hit you where you live” says bassist Geoff Newhall. “There’s an energy to the songs in the way they evolved. They grew organically from initial ideas to their final form… like polishing a stone.” More than just blues with the aforementioned twang, this record resides somewhere in that area between outlaw country and blues and it’s mesmerizing.
Collectively the guys in Farmhand have decades of experience and the strength of these tracks, both lyrically and melodically, make Long Hollow Blues something special. They take that storytellin’ country tradition and match it with melodies that stick like flypaper. The playing is relaxed, not uptight, kinda greasy in spots as they play fast and loose with the groove- I REALLY like that.
Not sure who is responsible for the album art- one of the band members’ kids no doubt- but there’s a naïve charm to it that belies the musical treasures that await inside. 12 tracks in all here and only one of ‘em a cover; Fresh Out from Christone Kingfish Ingram’s debut album that features Tom Hambridge contributing to lead vocals. Described in the press info as “classic grooves that still sound thoroughly original in the band’s capable hands”, Long Hollow Blues is one disc that you should really get your hands on.
https://www.facebook.com/geoff.newhall
HOT TRACKS: I’M Not Complaining, Tractor Woman, There’s Gonna Be Trouble
ONE FOR THE RIDE Matthew Curry (Ruf Records) *****
This is one of those albums that will hit you upside the head and have you asking for more. One For The Ride rocks like a fathermucker. No wonder people like Steve Miller and Patrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers are in awe of his talents. This thing kicks beaucoup de ass.
Born and raised in Bloomington Illinois Curry picked up the guitar at 4, was performing live by 8 and leading his own band by 11. Steve Miller called him “a wonderful guitar player and great songwriter in the league of Stevie Ray Vaughan”, and he ain’t wrong. Curry draws inspiration from bands like ZZ Top in the way he attacks a song. One For The Ride is all about life on the road, his love of storytelling and the musical influences that shaped who he’s become as a writer and musician. Over the years he’s toured with The Doobie Brothers, The Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Journey and Don Felder, so he’s had a few up close and personal lessons in how this thing is done.
Something that makes One For The Ride such a gripping listen, lyrics aside, is the breadth of styles he gathers on a single record with such ease. The album kicks off with a real shit-kicking party blues number called Rum Stumblin’, then just a few songs later there’s the mid-tempo acoustic number, inspired apparently by a spontaneous anniversary moment at home. The disc also includes a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Whiskey Rock A Roller with which he surely does the Florida rockers proud. The album is full of heartfelt moments powered by the unbridled joy of guitar driven blues rock which will connect with you immediately.
There’s some great story telling in these songs so I suggest you grab your favorite drink, throw One For The Ride on and let the spirit move you as it surely will.
HOT TRACKS: Rum Stumblin’ Dancing In The Kitchen, Whiskey Rock A Roller
STIRRING THE POT Brother Ray Lemelin & The Matinee Kings (independent) *****
Stirrinh The Pot may turn out to be one of the sweetest blues releases of the year. Iinspired by musicians like Willie Dixon and Clarence Gatemouth Brown to pick up a Strat and play the blues, Brother Ray speaks that language so fluently you’d think it was his native tongue. At times frantic (like the opening number) and other times smooth, this album is a delight.
Ray was born in Quebec but now calls Calgary home. His voice is warm and easy, his guitar playing fluid and natural. His previous album, Dark/ Out Of Phase (2023) was nominated for Best Blues Album Of The Year, and I can easily see Stirring The Pot enjoying a similar fate and taking home some hardware too. It’s one of those records you put on and, as you listen, you find yourself thinking “where have you been all my life?” Other accolades include Guitar Player Of The Year in 2013 at the CBMA Blues Awards plus Neither Here Nor There by Hills & Lemelin was named album of the year from the Acoustic Underground Blues Network.
From jump to slow burning blues and everything in between, Stirring The Pot is one of those albums that has it all. Throw in some accordion and you can add ‘zydeco’ to the heady mix of vibes and grooves, and Une Vie sounds like something from Santana’s repertoire. Over the decades Ray has played with artists like Amos Garrett, Rusty Reed and Harpdog Brown, and now his musical posse is The Matinee Kings, with whom he hosts a weekly Sunday night jam at The Blues Can in Calgary.
I haven’t been this knocked out by a blues record since The Rusty Wright Band’s Hangin’ At the Deville Lounge made the top of my end of the year list in 2022. Stirring The Pot is pretty much as good as it gets; it’s available on all streaming platforms.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=brother%20ray%20lemelin%20%26%20The%20Matinee%20Kings
HOT TRACKS: Frosty, Monkey, I’ll Take Care Of You
THE BEST OF BOTTLENECK Christina Crofts (Foghorn Records) *****
Is reviewing a ‘best of collection’ cheating? If you’re not familiar with an artist’s work, I say fair play. The Best Of Bottleneck comes from 2 decades worth of albums by the wildly talented Aussie slide player. Christina is a totally different animal from Bonnie Raitt… like her bio says “if Lemmy’s voice is what a Harley would sound like if it could sing, Christina Crofts’ guitar is what a 747 would sound like if it could play slide.” You’ve been warned.
TBOB is as much rock as it is blues. Crofts’ voice has been compared to Runaways-era Joan Jett, and her slide guitar playing is feral, wild and unhinged, exciting. “I was probably around 11 when I fell in love with the guitar” she says. “By the time I was a teenager I was listening to a lot of British blues rock, and CCR. I started playing guitar in my early 20’s, which was when I got turned on to Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and guys like that. There was no turning back.”
Crofts wasn’t initially jazzed when someone suggested a ‘best of’ album. “It had been a few years since my last release and someone suggested it, but it didn’t really grab me” she remembers, “but when I kept thinking about it (I) realized the concept of an all-bottleneck album would be something really cool and different.”
No production notes to refer to here but The Best Of Bottleneck has a full and robust sound to match the passion of Christina’s singing and playing. I don’t know what it is about Australia but that country has produced some wicked good slide guitarists; Dave Hole, Matty T Wall and now Christina Crofts. “I didn’t realize how much slide-forward stuff I’d done until I put this record together” she notes. “Slide just adds another level for me. It’s not that I don’t love regular guitar songs, but it just hits different.” You’re in for a wild adventure with this one.
HOT TRACKS: Voodoo Queen, Midnight Train, Like We Used To
